Superintendent's Scoop

October 2018

Dear
District 39 Community,

Here are some D39 updates:

School Safety

An
incident involving a WJHS student deeply impacted our community last month. While
there was no direct threat to any of our schools, I think all of us realized
that tragedies we have seen in Parkland, Sandy Hook, and elsewhere really can
happen anywhere. I want to thank our Wilmette Police Department (WPD) for their
expertise and support as we coped with something unprecedented in D39. The
ongoing partnership of the WPD is invaluable as we continually strive to
improve security and ensure the safety of our students and staff.We continue our “deeper dive” into safety and
security improvements at all of our schools.

Kindergarten
Enrichment

D39 has
proposed a two-phase plan to offer an optional tuition-based Kindergarten Enrichment
program that could begin as early as 2020-2021. This is an important step
toward our longer-term goal of supporting a full day D39 kindergarten program. Phase
One would be Harper and Central where Kindergarten Enrichment could start in
August 2020. A school addition would begin in June 2019 at Harper, with renovation
work at Central beginning in June 2020. Construction at McKenzie and Romona
would follow in Phase Two. Student tuition would offset program and
construction costs, and the phased plan allows us to spread costs as we provide
a budget neutral option for the District.

Superintendent
Search

The
search for the next D39 leader continues. Our search firm, SCHOOL EXEC CONNECT,
has conducted a survey and held forums for parents, staff, and community.
Together, this information will develop a customized profile for D39. The
search firm will be presenting an update at the October 22nd Board
of Education meeting, which will include a report on survey and forum results.
Additionally, the superintendent profile will be presented.